A Small Problem
by Minibyte
Summary: Pre:Hills Have 5. Mandarin and Valina are working together to get the Hyperforce now, with a deadly new addition. Will the Hyperforce be able to fight them in their weakened state? Or will they fall? Read and Review! CxJ,SxN,MxOC
1. Jinmay Finds Out

Author Note: This is my first chapter fic so pleez be nice (gives adorable puppy dog eyes) No flames pleez

Disclaimer: I do not own the Hyperforce

POST: "THE HILLS HAVE 5" this happens right after "Nights of Fear" except I twacked out the ending, my ending twack was that everyone went back to normal except Chiro and Nova. This is going to be funny.

Jinmay finds out

"AHHHH!" Nova screamed as she ran down a hall in the robot.

Antauri, Gibson, Sprx, and Otto were running after her all in that order. She scrambled up one of the pipes that ran over Chiro's room. "Ugh…" Chiro groaned looking up from reading his magazine and back down again.

"Great…" Chiro thought "Just perfect… I have a bunch of monkeys in my room and I'm trying to read." though Mandarin and Velina were gone temporarily, Chiro was still a little, powerless kid all at the age of 5, though his hat was gone that didn't bring Chiro any closer to being 14 again or having his powers. It was two o'clock in the afternoon and Gibson still hadn't helped him. Gibson was supposed to have helped Chiro get Velina's necklace to turn Chiro back at twelve o'clock but Gibson had got called back to the training room to help Antauri train Nova to get her courage back and now well… to say at the least Nova was terrified of Antauri's ghost claws and at the mere sight of them she freaked and that is what happened now, except Otto had forgotten to close the door and this was the product of it. Nova jumped down onto Chiro's bed and shouted at them "No! I don't wanna go back! I don't wanna, please training session over." She the turned to Chiro and begged "Chiro please get them off of me, save me!" Chiro then turned to her and said in his small, squeaky voice "Nova, if you don't train you will never be able to fight and if you never fight you wont be able to save Shugazoom. That would be awful now wouldn't it Nova?"

"Yes. I mean… I wanna… but I… I wanna fight but I'm too scared, Chiro" Nova responded.

"Fresh meat" Chiro said pushing her off the bed. She screamed but that was short lived, the boys jumped her and she was carried off to the training room.

In a temple on the outskirts of the city Velina with a trapped Mandarin were making plans for revenge on the hyper force and each other. They had it just about figured out now, all they had to do was move out and follow their plan to destroy the hyper force.

"Rap! Rap! Rap!" came at the foot of the robot.

"I'll get it!" Sprx yelled as he dashed around corners to get to the door. Jinmay appeared at the door

"Hi Sprx" she said "Well may I come in?"

"Uh… um… okay but one question why are you here?" Sprx asked

"I came here to see Chiro and remind him about the Halloween dance coming up." Jinmay answered

"That's- That's probably not such a good idea r- right now" Sprx said trying to stop Jinmay while she continued to walk towards Chiro's room.

"Uh- Oh" Otto said

"What is it?" Antauri, Gibson, Nova and Chiro asked in unison

"Jinmay" Otto answered

"Quick Chiro hide. Monkey team take your positions." Antauri commanded

Otto jumped on a pipe in Chiro's room that was broken 'Finally' Otto thought 'I've been waiting all week to do this.' Otto remembered back about a week ago

_/Flashback/ Sprx was chasing Nova around up and down the halls of the Super Robot. Antauri was in his room meditating and levitating. Just then Sprx and Nova came in their yelling disturbing his meditation "I'll get you" Sprx exclaimed playfully and Nova replied "Oh, No you won't!" Antauri utterly upset by this got down and used telekinesis on the two just as Nova upset a plant Antauri had put in his room. Antauri came out of his room with the two rambunctious monkeys bobbing behind him "Who wants to take care of double trouble?" he asked "I'll do it" Chiro said excitedly "Okay" Antauri said dropping the 'double trouble' in Chiro's room. Chiro walked in and carefully shut the door behind him locking it. The two began to play again wrecking one of the ceiling pipes while at it. They finally busted the door open and went to play elsewhere. /End Flashback/_

Nova went into Sprx's room and pulled out a video game and began to play it in the command center. Antauri dashed into his room and began tending to some fish that lived in his own little personal waterfall in his room in the robot. Chiro dashed under his bed he was extra careful not to be seen especially by Jinmay. Gibson ran into his lab and began to mix some chemicals. "Wait…" Jinmay said.

"What?" Sprx asked

"…before I see Chiro I want to see how the rest of the team is doing" Jinmay finished

"Okay" Sprx said letting out a breath as an anime sweat drop rolled down the back of his helmet

Jinmay casually walked into the lab "Hi" she said

"Oh. Jinmay! Hello!" Gibson said looking back down at a paper he was working on.

"What are ya workin' on?" Jinmay asked

"Just a long analysis on my Influenza cure'" Gibson stated

Jinmay rushed off and found Nova in command center playing a video game. "Whatchya playin'?" Jinmay asked

"Critter Warrior 204" Nova said as she successfully lassoed a giant eye creature

Jinmay walked into Otto's room but seeing that Otto wasn't there she continued onto Antauri's room. She peeked into his room. This time he was making the first move "Hello Jinmay" he said

"Uh…Hi" she said "Um…Have you seen Otto?"

"Last time I saw him he was fixing a pipe in Chiro's room" Antauri said

"Well…Um…Have a good day." Jinmay said

Jinmay went into Chiro's room in search of two things: Otto and Chiro. "Hi Otto," Jinmay said "…so you're fixing a broken pipe huh"

"Yep" Otto said staying focused on his work

"Have you by any chance seen Chiro?" she asked

"Nope" Otto said

Jinmay sat on the bed when all of the sudden she heard an "Oww!"

"What was that?!" she asked

"Probably just the wind" Sprx said then giggled nervously

Jinmay repositioned herself and then heard Chiro's whispering plead "Oww! Oww! She's on my head! She's on my head! Oww!"

"Now I may not be the smartest being in all Shugazoom but that was not the wind" She placed her hand under the bed and pulled out little Chiro.

"Hey! Let me go! Lemme go!" Chiro screamed trying to get her arm off of his

"You call this wind" Jinmay said holding up a Ragdoll Chiro

"Aww, Drat" Sprx muttered under his breath "You found Bobby" he proclaimed

"I found who?" Jinmay asked

"Bobby" Sprx said "Lemme explain" Sprx took a deep breath before beginning "Bobby is the kid's little cousin, he looks like the kid a lot. When Bobby's parents came over they were looking for a suitable babysitter for him. While Otto saw the paper and that was the 'end' of the kid. He took off like a speeding bullet to who-knows-where"

"Okay" Jinmay said putting 'Bobby' on the floor. Chiro ran out of the room. Jinmay followed him and managed to catch him. Chiro blushed "Hey watch it! That blush is reserved for big boys only!" Jinmay said.

"Uh… Oops!" Chiro exclaimed wriggling free from Jinmay's grip

"I'm not buying this Bobby thing one bit" Jinmay said

"Sprx you're telling" Otto said

"Okay, Okay!" Sprx yelled at Otto he turned around back towards Jinmay, his voice returning to normal "You're right that's not Bobby. (giggles nervously) Bobby isn't even real. That's the kid"

"So this is Chiro?" Jinmay asked

"Yep" Sprx said

"How'd he sustain this condition?" she asked

"Okay. Just this last night Mandarin broke into the robot and he made everyone's worst fears come true. Unfortunately when Chiro sucked Mandarin into Velina's necklace the only things that didn't go away were Chiro's and Nova's conditions. Gibson was supposed to help the kid and then some problems arose in the training room and that's what happened. Now are you happy?" Sprx concluded

"One more question that's all." She pleaded

"Fine, spit it out" Sprx said leaning against the dresser

"Is there anything else you've been hiding?" she asked

"Yep" Otto broke in and continued "Lets see… oh yes he had a crush on a girl named Neekeeta on this cat planet and he had crushes on two alien shape-shifting girls and uh… that's it"

"Do you think Chiro still likes me" Jinmay asked

"Of course" Gibson said coming in

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Jinmay: thanks for telling me

Me: No problem

Chiro: When will we get out of the robot I want to be 14 again!

Me: read and review and I'll have chapter two up in a flash and again NO FLAMES PLEASE.


	2. The Capturing of the Hyperforce

Authors Note: Quick huh? Well we better move on. I have an OC in this chapter.

Jinmay: Are you not going to tell them?

Me: Okay

Name: Darci

Fur Color: where white is: White; where color is: purple

Eye Color: Pupils: white; rest of eye red

Personality: sweet, caring, peaceful, defensive, stubborn, sounds like Neekeeta

Me: O.K. done well read and review NO FLAMES

Chapter two: The Capturing of the Hyperforce

As soon as Gibson managed to get his hands on Chiro, the two boys headed right into a trap. Gibson stepped on the 'X-marks-the-spot' tile and all of the sudden a net swooped down and picked up the two boys. Velina with Mandarin on an energy leash approached the two trapped heroes. "Hmm… Blah! Just two! You said that the trap would only commence at the weight of five of those filthy primates. Mandarin explain this to me!" Velina exclaimed.

"Your calculations must have been faulty" Gibson explained "Well… are you going let us go?"

"Mandarin we can not leave any evidence" Velina stated softly.

Mandarin nodded agreeing to this. He climbed up the tree and released the net grabbing as it began to slip from the tree. He quickly tied up the net then letting it fall he came down. After that Mandarin grabbed the net dragging the two helpless boys behind him.

About thirty minutes later Mandarin came out to make another trap when he sighted her… she was beautiful to him. Then he thought to himself 'Okay cool down me, serve my quote-in-quote master first then go for the girl.' After he set his trap he now had to be patient to get an unlucky victim into his trap. Five minutes in waiting, Jinmay made her way into the net. "Mandarin let me out you…" Jinmay screamed.

"Shh girl" Mandarin interrupted her before she could go on.

Mandarin set another trap and left for headquarters with Jinmay bagged dragging behind him.

"Mandarin! Why are you laying around?!" Velina screeched at Mandarin who was watching a surveillance camera.

"I am not laying around you witch!" Mandarin yelled.

"Then what are you doing?" Velina asked.

"I am watching my conspiracy" Mandarin said.

In the robot the four remaining monkeys were peacefully going about their own businesses. Sprx walked up to Nova who was still playing video games and he tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and stood up "What?" she asked

"I-uh…-I w-was w-wondering if you m-might g-go on a walk w-with m-me?" Sprx asked.

"Sure" she said.

The two headed out right outside "Um…Nova there's something I've been meaning to tell you" Sprx said.

"Tell" she said looking at him.

The two right as Sprx was stuttering on 'I' got caught in the trap. Nova screeched in terror at this. Antauri not being able to meditate gathered Otto and began outside. At the same time Mandarin was rushing towards the trap then at the same time the three monkeys came to the trap. "Not so fast!" Mandarin said activating the shutdown sequence (like in "Secret of the Sixth Monkey" when he rebooted the monkeys). Everyone except Mandarin shut-down. He gathered the unfortunate heroes and went to Velina.

"Here" he said laying the last four members on the ground

"Perfect, Mandarin; you may now have the walk you desired earlier but first help me get these putrid monkeys into their cage" Velena said

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Me: What evil dastardly deeds do I have planned for next chapter? (looks at Hyperforce all in cages) MWAHAHAHAHAHA

Hyperforce: Let us out!

Me: Maybe I should have Sprx confess or maybe I could… I could go on forever. Oh well… to see my next chapter you have to read and review NO FLAMES. Please and Thank You.


	3. Darci

Authors Note: Sorry about not updating in a while and sorry about last chapter I know I didn't put in the OC. I'll describe her once more for those who either didn't read the OC or just need a memory check. Oh yes A few other things READ THE OC and read and review NO FLAMES

Name: Darci

Fur Color: where white is: white; where color is: purple

Eye Color: Pupils: white; rest of eye red

Personality: sweet, caring, peaceful, defensive, stubborn, sounds like Neekeeta

Disclaimer: I do not own the Hyperforce they are property of Jetix

Chapter 3: Darci

After Mandarin took care of the last four members he went outside after the girl he saw. He wandered into town to find the girl of his dreams.

She was leaning against a white picket fence talking on a Motorola V500 with a blue skin with a black butterfly on it. She was talking to a friend apparently a monkey as well as she. Mandarin eavesdropped while she chatted and he heard this: "What did you say? (Pause) No not the mall. (Pause) C'mon we did messing the animal cops yesterday, any other ideas bright one? (Pause) Okay. Hover Burger when? (Pause) one thirty sounds fine. (Pause) bye."

Mandarin came out of hiding standing around five feet away "Um, hello"

"Oh, Hi" she said, her purple cheeks showing a hint of red.

"I'm Mandarin" he said

"I'm Darci, nice to meet you. Is it just me or do I know you from somewhere?" She asked

His mouth dropped open "Darci! We were in the same class when we were training and you and I got in that argument and you said you didn't want to be my friend anymore. That's where you know me from." He said.

"Oh, that Mandarin" she said, rolling her eyes.

"I was kind of wondering if you wanted to get a hover burger with me around oh, maybe one thirty? Ya know kinda to be friends again." he asked.

"I can do that" she said "that is _if _you would consider my friend joining us"

"I have no problem making that a table for 3 or even more" he said

She quickly called her friend back after they parted ways, she said nervously "Can we reschedule? (Pause) Because I'm going out with an old friend of mine (pause) He's a guy (pause) Well, yeah I have some new mixed feelings about him (pause) no way because he may not feel… (Pause) talk to me (pause) I'll try. I just hope I don't stutter. Catch phrase here I come!" She hung up.

1:30 came. Darci walked towards a table where Mandarin sat. "I remembered your favorite." He said.

"You did? After all these years?" she asked

"Fruit burger, no pineapple. How could I forget something like that?" he said "I swear you are the most unique monkey I have ever known or seen."

"Well you are more unique and you have changed so much… for the better." She said

"You think so? Y-You think it's better?" he asked

Darci nodded. Mandarin gulped. "You think we can be friends again?" Mandarin asked

"Yes" she said and they headed their separate ways.

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Authors Note: Thanks to everyone who read my SRMTHFG story, but I'm discontinuing it until I get more Ideas for it. I've gone brain-dead. My most sincere apologies, thanks again to everyone who reviewed. If you have any ideas let me know.

Minibyte


	4. Chocolate and Nova

Authors Note: I haven't updated in a long time… now…two weeks until school again. I also have some more ideas on this story and I'm getting to typing up a few others. So please **R&R** and **no flames though constructive criticism is appreciated. **It has also been brought to my attention that a few grammatical mistakes have occurred and they will be fixed in practically no time.

Chapter 4: Chocolate and Nova

"Oh…migraine…splitting, splitting migraine." Nova groaned as she sat up. Her eyes adjusted to vision through bars and she noted that all her comrades were there. Only Chiro and Gibson were awake though. There was also a pinkish blob moving which she couldn't make out.

She had been able to control most of her fears and see her comrades without seeing monsters and even though she wasn't completely happy with all of them; it was a relief to see them. She sniffed the air and noted the smell of something decedent filling the air, giving her a secondary feeling of relief. She saw a creepy thing coming forward, it was covered in orange worms that roared silently "Ah!!!!!!!!!!!!" she screeched backing herself against the back of the cage.

"Hush!" Mandarin barked

"M-M-M-Monster!!" she yelled

"I said shut up!" Mandarin said, putting something down in front of the cage and leaving.

Nova peeked out at the thing it left behind only after the monster was gone. It smelled _very_ decedent. It smelled like chocolate; food of the devil, that was simply irresistible. She was stumped on what exactly to do though. It smelled and looked like chocolate, but she knew it was bad for her and that a monster set it in front of her; the monster was her main concern though. Finally she gave into indulgence and grabbed the cake finishing the slice off in a mere minute, not knowing that the cake was poisoned.

Velina laughed as she watched the live security camera "Good job Mandarin. You will be rewarded after this is finished." She said

Nova yet again blacked out due to the poison taking its effect. A pair of cat-like eyes widened that watched the scene from above.

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Yay! Yay! Yay! Cliffys are so much fun! I know this chappie was very short but the next one I promise will be longer.

Chiro: Dang it, I hate you. I hate you a lot. I will get my vengeance, I promise you that Minibyte.

Me: Oh, I'm shivering with fear! NOT! Such pale threats! Oh and for those who like guessing games, my next chappie is called The 'Meow' in Friend so can you guys figure out who came back from Kathuri the cat planet? (Hint: it's not an OC)


	5. The 'Meow' in Friend

A/N: Happy New Years everybody, this new chapter is another part of the big holiday/new years reveal.

**A Small Problem**

Chapter 5: The 'Meow' in friend

"Nova!" Gibson exclaimed breathlessly as he watched the yellow monkey go down. Chiro gave him an odd look. They needed to get the necklace not to worry their heads off over Nova and their teammates.

"C'mon Gibson! We need to get that necklace! We can't just sit around all day!" Chiro said in his high squeaky voice.

"We're in iron cages, in restraints, that are guarded by magic. Tell me, how we do that." Gibson barked in a frustrated tone.

"Well, it's not like the whole world is cut off." Chiro said timidly, still taking time for Gibson's bark to wear off.

"Like what?" Gibson asked

"Like um… your tail?" Chiro asked

"Guarded by magic?" Gibson replied

"Right," Chiro said and sweat dropped. "How about your communicator, remember the time we called the super robot to us in Pit of Doom? Couldn't we do that again?" Chiro asked

"Mandarin busted the autopilot." Otto replied groggily.

"So we're stuck?" Chiro asked.

Gibson nodded glumly.

"Great! That's a trillion billion years longer than I was planning on spending with you guys!" Sprx grumbled.

"Maybe we could make some coordinated effort and get out" Chiro squeaked out.

"Or we could be stuck here for eternity." Gibson grumbled.

"or you couldn't," came a mysterious child voice

"Chiro?" Gibson asked.

"It wasn't me," Chiro squeaked.

"Than who?" Gibson asked

Unknowing to Gibson, Chiro or Sprx. Nova, Antauri, Otto and Jinmay had awoken. Mandarin walked into the room now that the last member had been roused. Nova shivered, the monster was back and looked worse than ever. She screeched and fell back. "Nova!" Chiro squeaked.

Mandarin grinned "Scared?" he asked.

"Mandarin." Antauri growled.

The orange monkey turned, "Ah, my little pupil…"

"Don't call me little or your pupil." Antauri growled dangerously.

"As I was saying…ahem. What does it feel like to be trapped with no means of escape, hm?" he said.

"Honestly, I've been in tighter spots," Antauri said blandly.

Mandarin was insulted, "Then maybe I should do some persuasive actions," he grinned, "After all, I do have the right to be feared."

Antauri shivered, "You won't do any of that. You're bluffing!" he growled.

"Watch me…" Mandarin grinned psychedelically.

He walked over to Otto's cage, Otto and Mandarin had been closest friends before the split. He opened the cage and grabbed Otto out of it, Antauri growled. "I swear if you hurt him you're going to pay with much more than you dealt."

Mandarin could only help but enlarge his grin as he swept Otto a blow across the face. Antauri rattled the cage in helplessness. Mandarin then scratched Otto across the face leaving a long bloody scrape. Otto screeched and the mysterious eyes that peered from the rafters widened. Mandarin grinned towards Antauri, he could easily see the fear in Antauri's eyes and posture, "Scared yet?" he asked, to enforce his schemes.

"No," Antauri attempted bravely but the fear was apparent in his voice.

Mandarin smiled, "Sure," and continued to torture the green monkey.

By the time he was done, Otto had over several puncture marks and enough flesh wounds to last him many battles in the future. Otto's fur was a deeper red than Sprx's and all over, the green monkey was crying in pain.

Mandarin hushed the green monkey, trying to comfort him to get him to stop crying. The efforts were useless. Finally Mandarin threw Otto into the cage. He turned to Antauri, "You don't even have to say anything and as long as I ask, you'll defy it. I know, your scared, your scared of me and your scared for your teammates.

"I am not scared!" Antauri growled fiercely, '_I'm worried for them'_ he thought.

The eyes from the rafter squinted, they couldn't take it anymore. The drive to attack was worse than ever.

The rafter eyes jumped down and attacked Mandarin, jumped to the side, came back again and repeated the whole process until Mandarin played dead.

The eyes finally revealed their captor. It was the white kitten from Kathuri that Otto had played with all the time. Tiny, blue eyed, white furred and still in orange and blue overalls. Antauri blinked, was this really Otto's kitten or was it a kitten impersonator?

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A/N: **Please** give me ideas and reviews, I need them! By the way I'm stopping this chapter here, yes I love cliffys!

Kitten: Let my uncle Otto out!

Chiro: Let me out!

Me: Nah, not yet. I still have to build on Mandarin and Darci *snickers and looks at a very pathetic Gibson* Oops, did I just give something away?

Nova: **R&R please!** And be sure to give plenty of story reviews and ideas.

Everyone: Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!


	6. Puppets

A/N: Oh. My. Gosh. AN UPDATE! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY! It's the apocalypse! C'mon everybody! Let's get some popcorn for the show! We'll have a front row seat for the apocalypse! YAY! (Yes, I'm extremely hyper right now, it's late, I get hyper when it's late, oh well, I'm weird. Yes, I know I haven't updated for an infinite amount of time and frankly I'm aware of how many errors there are in the previous chapters and no, I'm not planning to fix them anytime soon. I think I'm actaully starting a roll on this one (I always have a problem with beginnings) so updates _should_ get more frequent (hopefully, I promise NOTHING!)

Disclaimer: (Yes, I forgot it last chapter,) I own only Darci and the words on this page. Why else do they call it **FAN**fiction?

Enjoy the story! Read and review!

**A Small Problem**

Chapter 6: Puppets

Mandarin laid motionless on the ground, the kitten panted, seemed satisfied that Mandarin seemed dead and faced away. Quickly Mandarin got up and ran for the cover of the next room. Once inside he slammed the door, it would have caught the kitten's attention but the metal was impenetrable even to Otto's saws.

He turned around to see the purple monkey leaning against a wall, "Nice digs you got here." She said with a chime in her voice.

Mandarin smiled nervously, "How-? How'd you get in here?" He asked,

She smiled, "Your friend Valina, she was nice enough to let me know where you were."

_"That witch!"_ He muttered under his breath,

"Hm?" She asked,

"Um… I said… what a snitch? Yeah, she's a real snitch, always telling anyone where I am!" He covered,

"Oh, you wanted to be left alone?" She asked,

"Yes… but, now that you're here I guess there is no reason to usher you out." Mandarin counted,

"Oh, no, no, no! It's okay! If I need to go I'll definitely go! Don't worry about me! I've got places to go, people to see, things to do, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. I just dropped by to see if you were doing anything because there aren't that many monkeys around here, it's nice to hang out with my own kind once in a grand while." She said.

"It's-"

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_ The metal door that was 'impenetrable' was beginning to cave in on the middle.

"Um… Mandarin, what's on the other side of that door?" She asked, nudging back and towards Mandarin in case it was something _bad_.

"Something that shouldn't be getting through…" Mandarin forced himself to nudge forward, it seemed the only way to 'make a move' on the female, seeing as he'd lost Nova's interest long ago, he could possibly make that move by protecting her.

The door gave way. The kitten was standing silhouetted behind it. "Bad bad monkey!" It hissed, "You hurt my uncle!"

"Awww! It's a little kitten!" Darci cooed, she rushed over and picked it up, "Awww! How cute are you? How cute are you?" She fussed over the kitten and rubbed it's nose to hers, it swiped out at her, cutting her nose. Hissing, it jumped down and scampered off.

"Argh!" She whimpered out, quickly covering her muzzle.

Mandarin looked back at her, "Are you okay?" He asked quickly, she didn't respond, _'of course not!'_ He thought, _'She wouldn't be holding her muzzle if she was!'_ "I'll go get a bandage for that." He stated, "Just uh… wait here." and ran off.

She walked over to the door, slightly intrigued by the kitten that had come from behind the door. She wanted to see what exactly was in such a big seeming room besides a tiny kitten. A kitten could have been kept in a crate, what else was there?

She poked her head in and looked in the direction of a muffled cry.

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The kitten turned back around to view Mandarin's retreating form, _'I'll have to get him later, right now I have to help those who helped us, it's a rule of the Kathuri warriors!'_ He bounded over to the cages, sympathetically viewing the green-turned-crimson monkey for a second. He pulled a large baton from behind his back, his eyes turned cold and he turned around, "Bad monkey!" He called out and stalked back toward the door and began viciously hit the baton against it until on a final swipe, the middle caved in and the baton broke in half. He began punching the door until it fell in.

Gibson looked over to his green comrade, his face expression softened from his argument with the team leader. He felt guilty, he couldn't do anything. He couldn't do anything. He repeated the sentence mentally, and it felt awful. He closed his eyes, "Otto," He said quietly.

No response but crying.

"Otto," He was trying his best to be gentle. "Otto… Otto, come now, just hear me-"

"WAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"out?" Gibson finally finished his statement. Now, he felt horrible. Otto was sitting, well, laying, covered in his own blood and badly injured no more than seven meters away. The poor mechanic was wailing his heart out, crying from the immense pain that he had just recognized barely seconds ago.

Antauri was also feeling guilty about his green comrade. Otto was emotionally younger than the rest of the team, he was rather childish. He closed his eyes and attempted to console the green simian spiritually, reaching into Otto's cluttered mind as confusion washed over it and images of the pre-Chiro time washed through him.

"Otto," He managed to find Otto's core, a place where he could speak with the green monkey uninterrupted. A mind image of the young green simian was watching outside the core. He tapped the mind image on the shoulder and it turned around to face him.

"Antauri?" The mind image asked.

Antauri nodded, "Otto, you need to calm down." He stated, "Your wailing is going to attract Mandarin again and only going to succeed in making your current wounds even worse."

"But…" The mental Otto whimpered,

"Just be still. I understand it is confusing for Mandarin to attack you, seeing as both of you were comrades in the past but Mandarin has changed and turned. However, we need you to be strong right now, we _will_ get out of here. We just need you on board to do so." Antauri stated.

The mental Otto finally nodded, "I'll do my best…" He whimpered.

Antauri smiled and put his hand on Otto's shoulder, "I know you will." He stated and faded away.

He returned to his own mind and sat up. Otto was already sucking up his tears, whimpering and crying softly.

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Darci walked closer to the crying, why should something be crying in such a monkeylike voice in here? She saw cages. Cages with objects in them. Cages with moving objects in them. Cages with red around them? She saw the bottom of Otto's cage, blood had seeped out and onto the floor.

She walked closer, careful to keep her bleeding muzzle covered.

Mandarin came back into the room, seeing the purple female missing. He walked into the next room to see Darci nearing the group of cages that contained the hyperforce. He rushed to her and stood in front of her, "Here!" He said energetically, "Got your bandage! Here, take your hands off and I'll put it on for you."

This caused most of the team except Nova and Otto to look up. Nova was muttering something incoherent about monsters and Otto was too injured to do so.

"Here," Mandarin cooed as he plastered the bandage on her nose, "That should do it for now. I brought you a wipe so you could clean your hands in case it started bleeding. Still remember the time you got a bloody nose in class because of the weather, I'd admit you're rather… mmnh, unique, in that aspect." He backed away, handing her a wipe for her hands and watching her do so. He grabbed her hand after she had cleaned them and began to pull her away, "C'mon, we don't need to be in here. You really don't need to see what else is in here besides the kitten."

"Well at least show me what that is?" She asked in a sort of nasally voice due to the bandage.

"Oh, that?" Mandarin asked, pointing in the direction of the team's cages, "Dangerous entities. Very dangerous entities."

"Well, what's wrong with 'em? Why are they with you and not in prison?" She asked.

Mandarin struggled to find the right lie, "Um… well… they're toys. Animatronic actually. They went sort of haywire. I have to send them back to the manufacturer Monday to repair the programming chips. I can't keep them in any place unless they're locked up or they'll destroy everything."

"What's the red stuff around that cage? Can we at least see them? I'd love to see some animatronic toys, I've heard all about them but never seen any." She pleaded.

Mandarin looked over and decided it would do no harm to let her see caged 'toys,' it wasn't like they would be able to do anything with her anyhow. He pulled at a nonexistent collar, "Um, well, the red stuff is cattle blood. These are the most lifelike animatronics on the market. I film them acting so they have vocal chips and can carry some conversation but if you try for too long they start messing up their responses trying to come up with new phrases to tell you. When they went haywire I was doing an injury scene so one of them is made up to look injured. It's all in the makeup. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to see them though."

He brought them the cages. Darci looked at them. "Wow! They're so lifelike!" She looked at Chiro, "And that one looks just like one of the little boys I guarded! Almost an exact replica! My boy would be about thirteen now though, I'd doubt if he stayed six forever."

"So, who are you doing now?" He asked,

"Same kid. Can't find him anywhere though, I got a hiatus for the last while and I've been reading as far as I can in the absence but it's a ways to brush up. A good few years at least of reading to do. It's definitely taking a toll, running around." She replied and sat down next to Chiro's cage, sticking her finger and wiggling it around in it, "Hi there little fella, aww, you're a cute little thing aren't you? So cute and little and lifelike, I could just hug and squeeze you like a teddy bear!"

Chiro just stared at her, unsure of what to do.

She managed to graze her finger across Chiro's nose, she stroked it as he subconsciously leaned forward, "Aww! He's so sweet! Is it against the law to take him out for just a second?" She asked, looking at him with pleading eyes and making a sulky whimpering noise.

He let out an exaggerated sigh and let his arms drop to his sides, "Fine, but just this one. It's the least dangerous of the bunch, just a few chip issues that I couldn't correct here."

He kneeled down and opened the cage, plucking Chiro out of it and holding him at chest height like a proud puppeteer.

"Aww!" She cooed, standing back up. She stroked Chiro's hair, "It's so fuzzy!" She plucked him from Mandarin's arms and rubbed her nose to his, "Aren't you just too cute?" She asked, "I would take you home with me if I could but I can't because my apartment is a temp. But I would if I could!" She raised him above her head like a baby, gently tossing and catching him like any infant or puppy or kitten.

A disgruntled snort. Chiro looked behind him to see Antauri lying in one of those _'I need to say something to you'_ stances. Antauri realized he'd caught Chiro's gaze and quickly motioned something, which Chiro assimilated as Darci pushed her nose into his cheek.

Chiro nodded and waited for Darci to try and rub her nose to his again, she did. _'Bingo'_ He thought as he roughly kicked her in the stomach and was dropped. He sprinted to Antauri's cage, "Now what?" He whimpered, knowing it was only a matter of seconds before he was captured again.

"Get us out!" Antauri said, although being loud and blatant wasn't Antauri's character, the severity of the situation was first, persona later.

Chiro mussed with the cage bars as Antauri did his best to get out on the other side of the bars. The bars bent and caved in, setting Antauri free, who was out and standing, prepared for battle in a split second. Chiro hid behind Antauri's leg.

Ghost claws poised, Antauri's orbs pierced like icy daggers to Mandarin and this female intruder that was toying with Chiro. Without looking back, Antauri said, "Get Gibson and Otto out."

Chiro ran over and began fiddling with Gibson's cage until it caved in upon itself and Gibson escaped. Drills poised he fired and crumpled the other cages, allowing the rest to escape. Sprx grabbed Nova's arm and joined Antauri at the helm, ready to attack the two.

Again, without looking, Antauri stated, "Gibson, get Otto's wounds compensated for."

The scientist nodded and began to gently pull apart Otto's cage, finally pulling the wounded green simian out.

Darci looked at the attackers, she hid behind Mandarin, fearful. She looked up at him, slightly crouched down, "Mandarin… I'm scared." She whimpered.

"Don't be." He turned his head, kissing her forehead, "Everything will be fine."

* * *

Announcer bunny: Or will it?

MB: Hey! Announcer Bunny! You're supposed to go after me! Not before!

Announcer Bunny: Oh, should we cut and redo?

MB: No. Anyways, I'd be pretty darn scared if I were Darci too and pretty darn annoyed and/or creeped out if I were Chiro. But since I'm not, I can't.

Announcer Bunny: Will Otto be okay? Will the hyperforce escape? Will Darci learn that they aren't puppets? What's up with this guarding thing? Why am I asking you these questions? I don't know!

MB: Only reviews will get those answers. Can we reach 20 total reviews (current 16)? C'mon, even a little review is awesome! Flames accepted! Push the pretty green button!


	7. A New Threat

A/N: Okay, this chapter is why I rated the story teen. I didn't intend to take this dark of an approach but I figured Mandarin's got to tease the team a little bit before he attempts to capture them again so I'm rating this chapter for slight language and dark references, sorry about that folks, the story will lighten up, in a few chapters. Okay, I know the beginning sucks, ignore the mark that says no flames. _Read and review. Flames and constructive criticism appreciated. _Thank you!  
**Disclaimer: I do not own SRMTHFG. May the powers that be start reruns again... at least.**

**A Small Problem**

Chapter 7: A New Threat

Nova seemed to attempt to regain some of her courage, "Well look at that! Finally decide to start chasing some other bitch? One that's easier to roll in than me?" She asked, trying to taunt him.

Mandarin looked at her, "No my dear _bitch_, I have no problem reeling you in, much less _rolling_ in you." He teased her mistake in the phrase. "And I'm not chasing, I'm accepting. I never chase, I wait for my prey to come to me." He licked his lips lecherously, letting out a long sigh.

Nova was quick to dive behind Sprx for cover.

Mandarin grinned, seeming pleased, "Three down, three to go." He stated softly enough for only himself and Antauri to overhear.

Darci tugged on his shoulder, "Can't we just like, go, now?" She asked, pleading him with her big red eyes that reminded of soft rose petals at the moment.

He smiled and slid his hand over her eyes, "Shh, don't look. Just be still and everything will be over within a matter of minutes, okay?" He asked sweetly,

"O- o- okay, I guess…" She whimpered, backing away from the fight.

Antauri cast a swift glance to his teammates, who quickly deciphered the meaning and figured out how to get the request done among themselves. Even Gibson partook in a small roll, seeing as he had Otto stabilizing and no knowledge of an immediate exit.

The lot of the team attacked Mandarin, except Sprx who took a brief second to watch the beginning of Mandarin's mauling, as if it were a cartoon. He quickly remembered his roll and walked to the little girl Mandarin had attracted that seemed to understand so little about evil. He pulled one magnet out, poising it like a gun and carefully walking forward to the female that was facing the wall.

He mustered the best 'tough-cop' voice he could manage. "Put your hands behind your back." He ordered.

The purple fur bristled and fell back into place. She slowly followed the orders, revealing her hands to show she had nothing to hide.

Sprx swallowed his pride for actually having someone listen to him and pulled out the 'tough-cop' again. "You're under arrest for conspiracy to murder." He raised his magnets, hoping this would work and formed a small ball that magnetized her hands into each other. He grabbed her arm roughly, pulling her from the wall, "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in the court of law."

He chuckled mentally; he spent _way_ too much time watching cop shows with Nova. He had memorized that phrase from every time someone got arrested. Eh, he figured, at least it payed off for something.

He looked around, spotting no exit. He pointed his magnet upwards and fired, causing a hole to rupture in the metal ceiling. "Hey Brainstrain!" He called out,

Gibson came out from the scrap, Sprx pointed to the hole he just made. Gibson nodded, understanding Sprx's point. He ran over and grabbed Otto, flipping on his rocket pack and bringing them both above the building.

Sprx quickly followed, bringing his little 'prisoner' along. "You watch her for a sec?" He asked and dove back in, bringing Chiro back up and Nova jettisoning after him.

He looked over, deciding to take leadership for a brief second that everyone would probably listen. "Brainstrain, you get Otto back to the robot. Nova, you take Chiro back, and I'll follow you guys when Antauri comes out."

They looked at him as if this had already been pointed out by logic. Wasting little time, Gibson took off with Otto and Nova quickly followed the pair with Chiro. Sprx looked over at the purple female whom was hovering dangerously near the edge of the building, looking as if she was toying with the idea of jumping off. He snatched her arm, "Uh uh." He said, "Your aren't escaping that easy."'

She attempted to escape him, thrashing a bit. Sprx finally grabbed her arms and took a last look toward the hole and Antauri's battle. He knew that Antauri would be okay but still worried. "I'll be back Antauri, I just gotta take care of something first." He whispered at the hole and scooped up Darci, flying them back to the robot.

They dropped down, Sprx hustled the female inside, bringing her into the brig. He placed her in a locked cell with a security code, and walked away to gather Antauri from the fight with Mandarin.

She leaned against the wall and let out an exaggerated sigh, closing her eyes, "Counsel's gonna kill me for not getting any work done!" She whimpered and stared at the floor. The bright idea switch turned on. "At least I could get the reading to current done so I can actually start working!" She beamed at her idea and opened her helmet, pulling out a large, thick book that looked as though it shouldn't have been able to fit. She thought about the quirk, _'at least Mandarin gave me enough space to fit the book in this suit when we were in that class…'_

She opened the book, ant sized font crawled over the entirety of all the large pages. She sighed another time and picked up the heavy object, placing it on her lap and beginning to read.

Nova walked in, Chiro by her side. She observed the prisoner for a moment and finally mustered what _very_ little courage she had and said, "You do know that I have to confiscate that from you, right?"

Darci looked up, "O-kay. I'll put it away. I get it, you guys want to torture me and make me bored while I'm in the slammer. Yeah, yeah, I know the drill." She replied and opened her helmet to put the book away.

"She said she had to confiscate it from you, and in case you didn't understand, that means you have to give it to her!" Chiro squeaked, Nova let out a muffled giggle.

"Fine," Darci said as though she detested the idea, her features turned crafty, "But how're you gonna get it from me?"

Chiro walked over to a hole just small enough for a food dish to slip through, "You put it through here." He said as though it was pure fact.

"What if I don't?" She asked, testing the rules,

Nova flashed her fists, putting them away before she scared herself.

Darci sighed and closed her helmet, walking over and beginning to slide the book through the hole, "Just…" She stated as she slid it through, "Don't read it."

Nova grabbed it and placed it on a table, "Wouldn't really care to." She said and sat in a chair to monitor the cell.

Gibson popped in, he was rubbing his hands together, trying to dry them from clean-up in the lab. He spoke softly, "Nova,"

She looked up,

"I left something for the two of you in the laboratory, it should help with the effects of the amulet temporarily. Sprx asked me to come down and monitor so I left instructions with it. Nothing you shouldn't be able to follow."

Nova nodded and stood up, motioning for Chiro to follow, which he promptly did.

Gibson stood against the wall, "Caught in the wrong crowd?" He asked,

She looked up from deep contemplation, "You talking to me?" She asked,

"While I wouldn't be talking to myself." Gibson stated with an obvious pride in his common sense.

"No." She stood up, brushing invisible dust off, "I'm in the crowd I need to be in. The one that's not going to question my motives." She paused, gulping in air from nervousness, "Now, if you could be a good boy and give me back my book, I need to catch up on some reading."

"You won't need it for your interrogation. Items are confiscated before interrogation so you may reflect on the incident and speak on it's behalf." Gibson stated.

"A few words of wisdom if you work in the law business. Know your rights and mine. You can't take my book without a warrant and you can't interrogate me without my lawyer and I refuse to incriminate myself. I call on the fourth and the fifth." She stated, extending her arm to accept her book back.

Gibson looked at her, something was obviously wrong with her perceptions even though she seemed bright. "This is not a police station or the court. We run sideline and do what we please. We may take your objects without a warrant and interrogate you without legal support." He stated.

"Read my lips. I plead the fifth. Now, give me my book." She seemed annoyed.

Gibson simply replied, "No."

She closed her eyes again, "How to get into the thick head of a nineteen year old?" She mused and laced her fingers together pleasantly, "Well, I figured out how to get into a sixteen year old's brain." She abruptly turned her hands inside out, cracking her knuckles, "Three years difference doesn't have that much impact on how they think."

"You act conceded," Gibson observed, after listening to her little spiel, "I just heard everything you said. Even though you possess a strange accuracy for detecting age, your arrogance certainly won't help you do anything with that ability."

"Shut up." She said, "I'm arrogant for a reason, just as you are boastful for a reason. You don't see me picking out and teasing your persona, now do you?" She asked,

"I am not boastful!" Gibson defended his reputation.

"Needless I prove my case." She stated, "Now seriously, can we stop playing cops and robbers here? I'm getting tired of this game. Unlike you, I have a big job I need to get done so I need you to unlock me and let me out so I can do that job and you can run along and play."

"Do not treat me like a child." Gibson told her,

"Anyone who can't live on their own is a child." She stated.

As if on a cue, the door opened again, Sprx walked in.

She collapsed on the floor and placed her hand over her shin, rubbing it and looking fairly helpless. She looked at Sprx with tears welling up in her eyes, "He kicked me!" She cried, pointing at Gibson with her free hand.

Gibson stood there for a second, arms folded, _'She is an excellent actor.'_ He thought as he watched Sprx look at her for a second. Nobody spoke except for the female's 'sniffles' of 'held-back tears.'

Gibson decided that two could play at the charade, "As if I would purposefully make more work for myself with Otto injured already. And you seemed just fine five seconds ago when you were arguing."

He turned to abandon the situation, "And, for your record, we don't have special rights here. I knew what you were talking about by virtue of study but I'm afraid your little planet with rights is over a bit, because this one doesn't have them." He began to walk down the hallway to leave.

She scowled and let go of her leg. She beamed with another great idea and ran to the bars of the cage and rattled them with all her might on her knees. She finally released them, panting, her hands on her knees. She watched Sprx's line of view follow her panting form, outlining her curvaceous figure. She exaggerated the last of her pants and gulped up air she didn't need to give Sprx more time to look her over. She looked up and pretended to notice what Sprx was doing, blushing and falling backwards.

Sprx's trail of vision followed her as she sat back up, she made sure to make herself look attractive in nearly every motion of her little performance.

Gibson, watching Sprx begin to drool, looked at the female inside the cage, _'A seductress, hm… this is definitely a compelling new threat.'_ He thought and went to record his findings.

* * *

A/N: Sorry about the refrences to law here. **I've** been watching _way_ to much Law and Order recently, so uh... yeah, I was taking Civics when I wrote this too so, yeah. Influenced much? Sorry, this is a kind of filler chapter, random tidbits of nothingness to start this story up again.

Also, I'm very thankful for the one review I got last chapter. I asked for four and got one, three to go? Can we get it up to the twenty mark? Review please!


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